Monday, October 21, 2019

AMPED™ FEATURED ALBUM OF THE WEEK: HALLOWEEN OST (Expanded Edition)

JOHN CARPENTER, CODY CARPENTER,

and DANIEL DAVIES

HALLOWEEN: ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK

(Expanded Edition)

John Carpenter is a renaissance man. Best known as a director, Carpenter
is an equally talented screenwriter and composer. He’s had a hand in many
projects over the years. From TV movies, theatrical motion pictures, and comic
books, John Carpenter is a man who has a passion for the arts. He is also a man
who has a unique vision and it comes through in every project he is involved
with. Operating outside any industry formulas, Carpenter has written his own
rules along the way. Unsurprisingly, there have been many imitators along the
way but none of them have matched the master himself.

While John Carpenter has
tackled a lot of genres along the way, he’s most associated with Horror thanks to
his genre-defining 1978 film HALLOWEEN. Not only did he create
one of filmdom’s most iconic boogie men – Michael
Myers – he also wrote and recorded the instantly identifiable theme music
that has enhanced every haunt experience for 40 years. It must be said, though,
that while the HALLOWEEN franchise has continued over the decades, Carpenter has
had little involvement with the string of sequels apart from some soundtrack
work or ‘Producer’ credit. In essence, Carpenter created a ‘monster’ that
refuses to stay dead.When they decided
to reboot the series in 2018, they ‘erased’ every sequel that has been released
since the 1978 original and made 2018’s HALLOWEEN the first true and
acknowledged sequel to that first film. And guess who was the film’s Executive
Producer and soundtrack composer? Welcome home, John Carpenter…

The soundtrack to the HALLOWEEN
reboot was a success. Composed by John Carpenter with his son Cody Carpenter and godson Daniel Davies, fans embraced the score
and praised its moody atmosphere and fresh yet classic approach to the music.
Now, a year later, that soundtrack is being expanded with nearly 30 minutes of
additional music to savor and enjoy… and shiver to! The full soundtrack pays a
nice homage to the original 1978 score but it also is an entirely different
beast. And adding 28 minutes of additional cues means more mood-enhancing music
that helped to make HALLOWEEN a true showcase in Horror. Carpenter’s music is less
about scares and more about laying the groundwork and atmosphere that leads to those
scares. And boy, Carpenter, Carpenter, and Davies make it all come
together.This soundtrack is certainly sinister
yet features some chillingly beautiful pieces as well. Just don’t listen to it
by yourself…